In my previous post, I discussed the mission of the child in the manger. In this post, I will look at the child Himself. What child is this? Who is He?
Who He is to the World
It is an unfortunate truth that to the world, this child is a stranger. The world, that is, the unregenerate, know little or nothing about Him. There are even atheists who claim that Jesus Christ never existed. How ridiculous! As for the atheist, he would rather believe the ridiculous than to believe the truth. There are even theologians who have never been born again, who know little or nothing of this child in the manger. There are ministers across our land today who have never met Jesus Christ. There are church-goers in the land today who make it evident that, to them, Jesus is a stranger.
The Jesus of the Bible is the Christ, or the anointed One, who loves righteousness and hates iniquity. Hebrews 1:9 – “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” When you read your Bible, and the Bible describes something as being a sin, or an iniquity, or an abomination; Jesus Christ HATES it! But we live in a church world today where the liberal idea of tolerance prevails. People believe that Jesus is a limp-wristed sissy who accepts and tolerates everything. The truth, however, is that when this child in the manger returns to earth again, He will not be tolerant! He hates sin, and the Bible tells us He is coming to execute judgment! It is evident that many who claim to be a Christian do not know this child in the manger.
To the world, He is a stranger; but for the world, He became sin. The world may not realize or understand it. But upon this child in the manger our sins were laid! He bore our sins in His own body! He did not become a propitiation for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world. When I say that Christ became sin, I am not saying that He became a sinner. This child in the manger was as sinless as you wish to stretch the idea of sinlessness. He never sinned in thought, in word, or in deed. He pleased the Father in every aspect of His earthly life. He was qualified to die for the sins of the world because He did not have to die for His own sins! He had no sins for which to die! The world hates the child in the manger because of His sinlessness. His sinlessness condemns them. Christ was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and yet lived without sin. The world hates to look at the Ten Commandments, a collection of law that Jesus never broke. It reminds them that they are accountable to God Almighty. Though Christ never sinned, He took our sins upon Himself. He bore those sins up Calvary’s rugged tree. He paid the great debt that the world even collectively could never pay. All who believe, or trust, His payment will be free from sin’s penalty, power, and eventually its very presence.
Child in the manger, infant of Mary,
Outcast and stranger, Lord of all;
Child who inherits all our transgressions,
All our demerits on Him fall.*
Who He is to us who are Saved
While to the world, He is a hated stranger; to us who are saved, He is our beloved King! He is first and foremost our salvation. The Law of Moses condemned us to death, but that was all the law could do! Romans 8:3 tells us that what the law could not do, Jesus did! The law condemned us, but Jesus condemned the law! God’s law revealed to me my guilt; trusting the sacrifice of the child in the manger set me free from all guilt and shame. When keeping laws could save us, Jesus did! When “turning over a new leaf” couldn’t save us, Jesus did! When Islam, Buddhism, the New Age Movement, and other idolatrous religions left us lost, Jesus saved us! When any attempt by man to save himself miserably failed, as it always does, Jesus saved us!
To the saved, Jesus is our standard. I hear talk of “holiness standards.” When many speak of “holiness standards,” they often speak of modest dress and the outward appearance. While the Bible absolutely promotes modesty, distinction of the sexes, and other aspects of the outward appearance; one can dress modestly and yet be as lost and unholy as anything. Modesty and separation from the world are not our standard. Jesus is our standard! His blood alone makes us holy. Without His blood applied to the doorposts of your heart, you are as unholy and as sickening the heavens as you can be, in spite of the presence of any good works or the absence of any evil works! Jesus is our holiness. He is our righteousness. His blood makes us holy; His word continues to wash us; His Spirit gives us power to live in a holy manner. Jesus is our standard for holiness. Yes, Christians need to live holy. But remember – we must BE holy before we can LIVE holy! You have to be MADE HOLY before you can LIVE HOLY! We are made holy, not by works; not by law-keeping; not by “doing better;” not by any other sorry attempt by man. We are made holy by the blood of Jesus Christ, and by nothing else. At the point when the blood cleanses us from sin, the Spirit of God moves into our hearts and gives us power to then live holy. Attempting to live holy without the blood of Jesus applied to the heart is abominable to God. Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags! Our best works are completely incapable of pleasing the Father! Only the work of His Son, the child in the manger, pleases the Father. As for our works, only what is done by the Holy Ghost within us pleases the Father.
Once the most holy child of salvation
Gently and lowly lived below;
Now as our glorious mighty Redeemer,
See Him victorious o’er each foe.*
Who He is to the Heavens
In the heavens, Jesus is known. To the prophets who have gone on, He is the One of whom they foretold. He is the subject of their writings. He can be found in the earliest of scriptures. He is Job’s redeemer that liveth. He is Ruth’s near kinsman. He is the brazen serpent, upon which we look and live. He is the voice in the burning bush. He is the fourth man in the fire. He is the Passover lamb. He is shewbread, of which we eat and never die. He is burning candlesticks in the holy place. He is sacrifice upon the brazen altar. The prophets know Him. They have spoken so clearly of him that it is a wonder that there is in existence even one unbelieving Jew. The law and the prophets have revealed Him to those who would hear them.
Angels know Him. They worship Him. They worshipped at His birth, and they continue to do so. The scriptures declare, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” The question of His deity is settled. The angels declare it every time they bow! This child in the manger is “God manifest in the flesh.” His name is Emmanuel, meaning, “God with us.” When Jesus walked in flesh among us, God walked among us. When you heard the words of Jesus, you heard the words of God. When you met Jesus, you met God.
Prophets foretold Him, infant of wonder;
Angels behold Him on His throne;
Worthy our Saviour of all our praises;
Happy forever are His own.*
Mary MacDonald; Fred Bock
Who He is to the World
It is an unfortunate truth that to the world, this child is a stranger. The world, that is, the unregenerate, know little or nothing about Him. There are even atheists who claim that Jesus Christ never existed. How ridiculous! As for the atheist, he would rather believe the ridiculous than to believe the truth. There are even theologians who have never been born again, who know little or nothing of this child in the manger. There are ministers across our land today who have never met Jesus Christ. There are church-goers in the land today who make it evident that, to them, Jesus is a stranger.
The Jesus of the Bible is the Christ, or the anointed One, who loves righteousness and hates iniquity. Hebrews 1:9 – “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” When you read your Bible, and the Bible describes something as being a sin, or an iniquity, or an abomination; Jesus Christ HATES it! But we live in a church world today where the liberal idea of tolerance prevails. People believe that Jesus is a limp-wristed sissy who accepts and tolerates everything. The truth, however, is that when this child in the manger returns to earth again, He will not be tolerant! He hates sin, and the Bible tells us He is coming to execute judgment! It is evident that many who claim to be a Christian do not know this child in the manger.
To the world, He is a stranger; but for the world, He became sin. The world may not realize or understand it. But upon this child in the manger our sins were laid! He bore our sins in His own body! He did not become a propitiation for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world. When I say that Christ became sin, I am not saying that He became a sinner. This child in the manger was as sinless as you wish to stretch the idea of sinlessness. He never sinned in thought, in word, or in deed. He pleased the Father in every aspect of His earthly life. He was qualified to die for the sins of the world because He did not have to die for His own sins! He had no sins for which to die! The world hates the child in the manger because of His sinlessness. His sinlessness condemns them. Christ was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and yet lived without sin. The world hates to look at the Ten Commandments, a collection of law that Jesus never broke. It reminds them that they are accountable to God Almighty. Though Christ never sinned, He took our sins upon Himself. He bore those sins up Calvary’s rugged tree. He paid the great debt that the world even collectively could never pay. All who believe, or trust, His payment will be free from sin’s penalty, power, and eventually its very presence.
Child in the manger, infant of Mary,
Outcast and stranger, Lord of all;
Child who inherits all our transgressions,
All our demerits on Him fall.*
Who He is to us who are Saved
While to the world, He is a hated stranger; to us who are saved, He is our beloved King! He is first and foremost our salvation. The Law of Moses condemned us to death, but that was all the law could do! Romans 8:3 tells us that what the law could not do, Jesus did! The law condemned us, but Jesus condemned the law! God’s law revealed to me my guilt; trusting the sacrifice of the child in the manger set me free from all guilt and shame. When keeping laws could save us, Jesus did! When “turning over a new leaf” couldn’t save us, Jesus did! When Islam, Buddhism, the New Age Movement, and other idolatrous religions left us lost, Jesus saved us! When any attempt by man to save himself miserably failed, as it always does, Jesus saved us!
To the saved, Jesus is our standard. I hear talk of “holiness standards.” When many speak of “holiness standards,” they often speak of modest dress and the outward appearance. While the Bible absolutely promotes modesty, distinction of the sexes, and other aspects of the outward appearance; one can dress modestly and yet be as lost and unholy as anything. Modesty and separation from the world are not our standard. Jesus is our standard! His blood alone makes us holy. Without His blood applied to the doorposts of your heart, you are as unholy and as sickening the heavens as you can be, in spite of the presence of any good works or the absence of any evil works! Jesus is our holiness. He is our righteousness. His blood makes us holy; His word continues to wash us; His Spirit gives us power to live in a holy manner. Jesus is our standard for holiness. Yes, Christians need to live holy. But remember – we must BE holy before we can LIVE holy! You have to be MADE HOLY before you can LIVE HOLY! We are made holy, not by works; not by law-keeping; not by “doing better;” not by any other sorry attempt by man. We are made holy by the blood of Jesus Christ, and by nothing else. At the point when the blood cleanses us from sin, the Spirit of God moves into our hearts and gives us power to then live holy. Attempting to live holy without the blood of Jesus applied to the heart is abominable to God. Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags! Our best works are completely incapable of pleasing the Father! Only the work of His Son, the child in the manger, pleases the Father. As for our works, only what is done by the Holy Ghost within us pleases the Father.
Once the most holy child of salvation
Gently and lowly lived below;
Now as our glorious mighty Redeemer,
See Him victorious o’er each foe.*
Who He is to the Heavens
In the heavens, Jesus is known. To the prophets who have gone on, He is the One of whom they foretold. He is the subject of their writings. He can be found in the earliest of scriptures. He is Job’s redeemer that liveth. He is Ruth’s near kinsman. He is the brazen serpent, upon which we look and live. He is the voice in the burning bush. He is the fourth man in the fire. He is the Passover lamb. He is shewbread, of which we eat and never die. He is burning candlesticks in the holy place. He is sacrifice upon the brazen altar. The prophets know Him. They have spoken so clearly of him that it is a wonder that there is in existence even one unbelieving Jew. The law and the prophets have revealed Him to those who would hear them.
Angels know Him. They worship Him. They worshipped at His birth, and they continue to do so. The scriptures declare, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” The question of His deity is settled. The angels declare it every time they bow! This child in the manger is “God manifest in the flesh.” His name is Emmanuel, meaning, “God with us.” When Jesus walked in flesh among us, God walked among us. When you heard the words of Jesus, you heard the words of God. When you met Jesus, you met God.
Prophets foretold Him, infant of wonder;
Angels behold Him on His throne;
Worthy our Saviour of all our praises;
Happy forever are His own.*
Mary MacDonald; Fred Bock
